The older I get, the fewer friends I have. (No, it's not because they are dying off; I've only lost two close friends to Death so far.) It's a mystery to me, but not such a terrible turn of events. Friends do sap one's time and energy, and often for no good reason. When I think back to how many hours I wasted and how many pounds I added sitting in my friend Mary's car outside of Montgomery Donuts in Bethesda back in the 70s and 80s, I'm stunned. It was always her idea, and since she was skinny it was no problem for her to chow down on several of the tasty gems, literally the best donuts I have ever had except for those honey-wheats at the old Chock Full o'Nuts in New York City. Anyway, we were having such a good time doing absolutely nothing, and we were, after all, best friends!Today, much older and wiser, and thankfully thinner, I don't hang out much with people who add little of value. My friends now are all people I respect, admire, and learn from. And the ones who don't much like me, and vice versa, fall away naturally with almost no effort on either side. That's a good thing.
Still, I wonder whatever happened to Mary, and who she's force-feeding today.
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